Goodyear continues to deflect questions on evolution beliefs
ANNE MCILROY and GREG MCARTHUR
Globe and Mail update
March 18, 2009 at 10:51 PM EDT
OTTAWA and TORONTO — Gary Goodyear, Canada's minister of science, trumpeted the country's scientific achievements in a speech Wednesday but found himself deflecting, for the second day in a row, questions about his commitment to the theory of evolution.
“My view isn't important. My personal beliefs are not important. What's important is that this government is doing the right thing for science and technology – to support science as we have in every single budget,†he said during a brief scrum after a speech to the Economic Club of Canada.
In an interview published in Tuesday's Globe and Mail, Mr. Goodyear declined to answer a question about whether he believes in evolution, saying that questions about his Christian faith are not appropriate. His demurral sparked a wave of concern from many prominent scientists, some of whom are smarting over federal funding cuts and see evolution as a fundamental concept.
Mr. Goodyear, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, attempted to clarify his views on the origins of humanity in a Tuesday interview on the CTV program Power Play; he said he believed in evolution. However, when he provided the show with examples of the sort of evolution he believes in, he left some experts in developmental biology wondering if he understands the concept.
“We are evolving every year, every decade,†Mr. Goodyear said on the television program. “That's a fact, whether it is to the intensity of the sun, whether it is to, as a chiropractor, walking on cement versus anything else, whether it is running shoes or high heels – of course we are evolving to our environment.â€
Brian Hall, a biology professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax and an expert on evolution, said Mr. Goodyear is mistaken.
“This is not evolution,†he said of Mr. Goodyear's examples. “The minister is confusing evolution with lifestyle adaptation,†said Prof. Hall.
“We adapt to the intensity of the sun by staying in the shade, using more sunscreen, wearing a hat. We adapt to walking on cement by wearing more comfortable shoes,†Prof. Hall said.
These are not genetic changes that are passed to the next generation, he said. They aren't going to add padding to our children's or grandchildren's feet and help them walk on concrete, or help their skin withstand more of the sun's harmful rays.
Wednesday, after repeating to reporters that he believes in evolution, Mr. Goodyear was asked to clarify how he defines the concept. He declined.
“You know, my entire background has been in science and my personal beliefs are not important – and what I'm doing, and what this government is doing to move this country forward, that's important,†said Mr. Goodyear, a chiropractor by training who studied, among other things, chemistry and physics as a university undergraduate student.
Mr. Goodyear's speech highlighted the need for Canada to improve the commercialization of its many scientific discoveries, and start “moving our research from the universities and the labs to the factory floors and ultimately to the marketplace – where Canadians and people all around the world can then benefit from our discoveries.â€
Mr. Goodyear and his government have been criticized by many senior scientists for cutting $147.9-million from the three granting agencies that fund research at Canadian universities.
The scientists say the cuts, announced in the January budget, exacerbated a funding crunch that has left many top people hunting for operating funds to continue their research.
But Mr. Goodyear says those cuts were one part of a budget that also offered a lot of new cash for science, including $750-million for the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, which helps scientists buy expensive equipment.
There was also $2-billion for infrastructure at Canadian universities, which will go to fixing leaking roofs and other repairs and infrastructure projects. Mr. Goodyear says that money will help scientists and stimulate the economy.
But scientists remain critical of the lack of funding in the budget for the basic, curiosity-driven research that history shows leads to important discoveries. They argue they have great labs and equipment, but need the operating funds to do their work.
In the United States, President Barack Obama has put $10-billion in medical research, and many researchers fear the top Canadians will move there.
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